The Lunar New Year begins Monday,
Jan. 26, when the diligent, dependable
ox replaces the shrewd, calculating
rat as custodian of our fortunes.
Half the world’s population awaits
that transition as eagerly as
stalwart Democrats celebrated
the more worldly transfer of powers
that took place in Washington,
D.C. last week. Even if you don’t
believe in astrological powers,
the Rat’s reign can’t end soon
enough. So put on your lucky reds,
water those auspicious azaleas,
leave food on the shrine to your
ancestors and honor the Ox.

Now in their 104th year here,
Chinese restaurants represent
Des Moines’ oldest ethnic café
tradition. The Rat was especially
unkind to them — The Mandarin,
Yee Garden and King Ying Low all
closed after many decades. That
made Kwong Tung (KT) the honored
elder among the city’s Chinese
restaurants. Elders have distinct
advantages over new kids on the
block, not the least of which
is that they have often retired
their mortgages and lowered their
overhead costs. I suspect that’s
the case at KT because large lunches
cost less than $4 and big dinners
less than $10.

There are also disadvantages,
not the least of which is that
loyal customers resist changes.
KT’s weekday menu was filled with
Middle American Chinese recipes
that fed the Baby Boomers and
their kids. All were generous
with fresh vegetables, meats or
shrimp, dried shiitakes, bamboo
shoots and fresh ginger. Their
sauces — brown, oyster, sweet
& sour, teriyaki, tomato and
white — were all starch thickened
and bore textures similar to institutional
gravies. I tried my first egg
fu young in decades and loved
it, but only after scraping off
the brown gelatinous sauce. My
favorite weekday dish was “northern
style beef” in which ginger stood
out.

The Ox brings good news. Recently
Kwong Tung added a completely
new, “Sunday only” service that
has become the best Chinese menu
in town, as well as one of the
best bargains. Dim sum-sized plates
were priced $2 - $4 with the singular
exception of a whole fish, introduced
to celebrate the Year of the Ox,
at $8. Most other dishes compared
well with those of West Coast
dim sum joints. Dumplings are
the heart of dim sum. Siu mai,
the most familiar looking dumpling,
had the appearance of an open
basket with its homemade pork
sausage flowing over of the top.
Fun gor and har gow were both
marvelously executed in translucent,
rice paper wrappers (with a touch
of wheat starch in the dough)
stuffed with whole shrimp, noodles
and vegetables. Gow gee were pan-fried
dumplings, differing from “potstickers”
in the shape of their wrapper.
Wu gok were my favorites — taro
paste was stuffed with mushroom
bits and deep fried into a crunchiness
sweet enough for dessert.

Fung jeow (chicken feet) are an
acquired texture, resistant to
chewing and challenging to many
intestinal systems. The intestines
served at KT (beef tripe) were
much more palatable — simmered
in a light ginger sauce to a texture
similar to turkey skin. The curried
squid seemed to be a work-in-progress
— marvelously seasoned but too
chewy. Stuffed sweet peppers (the
most popular item) were full of
shrimps and shrimp paste and drizzled
with a marvelous black bean sauce
that could revive the weekday
menu. For heartier appetites,
“fun” dishes mixed stir-fries
with wide wheat noodles and steamed
fish, riblets, etc. Jin dui (deep
fried sesame balls filled with
sweet red bean paste) are Des
Moines’ fastest growing dessert
item. Custard tarts were the most
American-like dessert.

Side Dishes
Facing imminent completion from
a new Hy-Vee (and it’s cheap “Chinese
buffets”) across the street, The
Mandarin closed after four decades
in Beaverdale. El Aguila Real
announced plans to occupy its
site… Fong’s Pizza announced a
January 26 opening in the old
King Ying Low venue downtown,
with late night hours… Prairie
Meadows announced a 35-item Chinese
New Years Buffet for January 26.
CV